Victims in mortgage scam to receive money

Paramount Mortgage owner ordered to pay $919,465

After avoiding a prison sentence by pleading guilty this spring to felony charges of check forgery and theft of more than $20,000, a Highlands Ranch woman has agreed to pay close to $1 million in restitution to more than a dozen victims in 13 states.

Jill Evans was sentenced on April 24 to 10 years of probation and a six-month suspended jail sentence if she fails to meet conditions of her probation and pays the restitution in what the judge determines to be a timely manner.

The amount of restitution she would be ordered to pay was still being worked out at that time, but on Aug. 30 the Colorado Attorney General’s Office reported that she would pay a total of $919,465.35 to victims spread across 13 states, from New York to California, including Colorado.

“In cases like this, it is often challenging to secure compensation of victims for their loss,” said Attorney General John Suthers. “So it is especially gratifying that this case results in people receiving full restitution.”

Evans, owner of Paramount Mortgage of Colorado Ltd., was indicted by a state grand jury in January 2012 for stealing up-front fees for mortgages and loans that she failed to deliver. The 47-year-old was accused of taking a total of $500,000 from victims.

Evans is also facing two federal civil cases and currently has $8 million in insurance proceeds frozen, pending the resolution of those cases, said Carolyn Tyler, communications director for the Attorney General’s Office.

In a statement made at time of the indictment, Suthers said his office has made investigating and prosecuting mortgage fraud cases a top priority.